Very surprising. Gaman is 30 now and he hasn't competed in quite a long time (he has been coaching). He also never really had success on the international stage, if I can recall correctly. Here's his old ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00007084.htm

I am glad Caitlin has a new partner. But, as an American pairs fan, I'm sad it's not a U.S. partner. She was one of our greatest talents, so to see her go to another country is disappointing. But I certainly understand it, she can't wait forever for a good U.S. partner to come along. I hope this partnership works out for her. I think his age is not ideal. Assuming they stay together, it will take them several years to get up to speed. That would make him 32 at least before they could even start to be competitive. But I wish them the best of luck and hope it works out for her. I am a huge fan of Caitlin!

Any idea where they are training? She was with Johnny Johns in Michigan when she skated with Joshua Reagan.

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I think she's still in Michigan. My friend and I stopped by Canton before our flight out of Detroit after SA so she could check out the facilities, and she said she saw Caitlin there training with "a super tall guy."

So he's older and coming out of coaching to skate with her... it's her Stanislav Morozov, except Morozov was around 25 when he started skating with Volosozhar. I wish Caitlin the best of luck. If all they want is to go to the 2018 Olympics and she can get citizenship, that sounds realistic, but if they want international medals, it'll be a tough road starting out at this age... can anyone give some insight on Gaman? Was he considered the stronger or weaker partner in his pairings, what jumps did he have, was he consistent, was he a good lifter, etc?

But why pick a partner who's already 30? He can't have many good years left.

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Depends on how he has been taking care of himself. There are some people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s who take better care of themselves and are in much better shape than some teens and 20 somethings. Hamish has been out of commission for 9 years in terms of ISU level competition. It appears he has only done exhibition skating publicly during the time he has been away from competition. It's not like he's been taking countless years of abuse on his body and living through all the rigorous training in practice and massive stress in ISU senior level competition a la John Baldwin Jr. I'm not saying it won't be difficult for them to adjust, but I don't believe it is impossible for them either. It's possible too that they just want to have the experience together and not necessarily the results. Who really knows what their intentions and goals are?

So he's older and coming out of coaching to skate with her... it's her Stanislav Morozov, except Morozov was around 25 when he started skating with Volosozhar. I wish Caitlin the best of luck. If all they want is to go to the 2018 Olympics and she can get citizenship, that sounds realistic, but if they want international medals, it'll be a tough road starting out at this age... can anyone give some insight on Gaman? Was he considered the stronger or weaker partner in his pairings, what jumps did he have, was he consistent, was he a good lifter, etc?

He has a very strong build and presence on the ice, which appears to be very accommodating for pairs skating and he has a very solid, reliable 2Axel in this video and he performs a nice, clean 3toe too.

Does everyone need to go to the Olympics? Some people just want to skate and don't need that 'once every four year competition' to make their career.

I also don't understand why people think because a skater turns a certain age they must retire from competitive skating. Just because a make pairs skater is 30 or 35 doesn't mean they can't/shouldn't compete if they want to.

I assume Kemp/King are retiring after this season, so there will be opportunities for Yankowskas/Haman to compete at Europeans/Worlds if all goes well for them.

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I'm not sure Kemp/King are planning to retire, but Yankowskas/Haman could even go to Europeans this year, GB has two spots - the other competition would come from Amani Fancy/Christopher Boyadji, but I think they don't yet have the FS TES for Europeans.

Side note: If all these teams turn up at British nationals this year, it will be the first time since 1999 that there have been more than 2 senior pairs entered!

I doubt that Caitlin Yankowskas is seriously entertaining the thought of representing Great Britain in Pyeongchang. She'd need to move to the U.K. and marry or have civil partnership with a British citizen.

On the other hand, skating with Gaman will keep her busy and at least let her compete at British Nationals this season. After Sochi and Worlds, there may be some splits that will give her opportunities she doesn't have now.